Group Investments Expand Metro’s Capabilities

We are pleased to share two strategic acquisitions by our parent, GB Global, that significantly enhance the range, reach and resilience of services available to Metro customers. 

These latest GB Global investments — a 50% stake in Tendron, one of France’s leading logistics operators, and the full acquisition of Viasea Shipping, a fast-growing short-sea specialist — expand our overland, warehousing, logistics, e-commerce and short-sea capabilities across Europe.

Expanding European distribution with Tendron

Founded in 1963, Tendron is a major independent logistics provider in the Paris region and central France, operating 12 distribution centres, with 47,200 m² of warehousing and 545 vehicles across a dense regional distribution fleet.

The addition of their dedicated e-commerce logistics division brings further capabilities including a specialised Amazon distribution centre, last-mile services supported by a dedicated van fleet, with more than 3 million parcels handled annually

For Metro customers, this greatly enhances our ability to build integrated Europe-wide solutions, combining road freight, storage, fulfilment and last-mile delivery with faster access into one of the continent’s most important consumer markets.

Enhancing shortsea connectivity with Viasea Shipping

Ellerman City Liners’ acquisition of Viasea strengthens GB Global’s short-sea network across the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and Lithuania. Viasea brings high-frequency, sustainable short-sea services, with offices across key Northern European gateways and integrated rail services linking Poland, Hungary and Romania.

For Metro customers, the combined Ellerman–Viasea network delivers improved schedule reliability, wider port connectivity, and additional multimodal options at a time when European supply chains face capacity constraints, higher road costs and increasing environmental regulation.

Grant Liddell, Metro CEO, commented:
“These investments strengthen our ability to design and deliver smarter, faster and more connected European logistics for our customers. With deeper networks, expanded capacity and enhanced multimodal reach across the continent, we can offer even more robust and flexible solutions tailored to each client’s specific supply chain goals.”

To learn how we can develop and support your supply chain resilience EMAIL our Chief Commercial Officer, Andy Smith.